Rain
by sagittariusTITAN22
Summary: A rockslide, unresolved feelings, and a shocking plot twist. Also mild language, and blood. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Prologue  
The 59th Expedition beyond the walls. It was simply another reconnaissance mission to try and find more areas for human expansion. For three days, there had been no Titans what-so-ever. They hadn't seen any, heard any, or encountered any. However, it had been pouring rain since day two, which no one was happy about or planned for. They stopped near a small cliff to rest and navigate their position. An hour before the planned departure, someone fired a red smoke round up to cut open the rain.

"We got Titans! 10-meter-classes in all directions!"

The approaching Titans came into view through the thin tree line. Soldiers scrambled to put out various small campfires, or haphazardly shove supplies into wagons. Levi ran over to Mikasa, Eren, and Armin.

"You two!" he pointed to Eren and Mikasa, "help Hanji with the left flank!"

They ran off and Levi looked at Armin, "Help Mike with clearing the wagons!"

The sound of splashing boots, whirring Maneuver Gear, and slicing flesh blended together with the yelling of the assorted squad leaders. The rain had begun to loosen up the rock on the cliff, which concerned everybody who wasn't either a Titan or one of the dead. Levi cut through another neck when Erwin pulled him aside.

"This is a losing battle. We've lost ten already and more Titans keep spilling in," Levi didn't even have to look at Erwin to see his expression.

"We need Eren's Titan. Wait for the rest of the wagons to clear out then watch for the blue smoke," Erwin ordered casually before flying off.

It didn't take long for the rest of the supply wagons to leave. A line of blue smoke flew up into the barrage of red. Levi quickly found Eren scrambling around. Eren was given his orders and a twenty-foot perimeter was cleared out around him. He was assured that Mikasa and Armin were already with the formation, which had just left. Levi and Hanji were the only ones that stayed.

Eren brought his hand to his mouth-but he was interrupted. The sound of chattering pebbles soon meshed into the roar of a full-throttle rockslide. The thundering roar of cascading boulders drowned out the patter of the cold rain. Startled by the sudden onslaught, Eren spun are only to be greeted with the sight of a few tons of granite racing for him. Levi could run to him fast enough and by the time he did reach Eren, it was too late. There were at least two boulders on Eren. A fairly small boulder on his upper body, and a medium-to-large one on Eren's left leg.


	2. Chapter 2

"Shit! Eren! Goddamn landslide...I-I'll get Hanji over here-"

"Levi," Eren whispered hoarsely.

"Hanji! Hanji, get your ass over here!"

"Levi, stop," Eren raised his voice as much as he could, "just go. You don't have to die too."

"Shut up! Don't say crap like that!"

If anything good came from this, it that's that slide scared off the rest of theTitans, Levi thought in a failed attempt to make himself feel better.

Hanji cut through another Titan neck and lowered herself to the ground before running over to them at full sprint. Her hair plastered across her face in strips...but it did a poor job of masking her emotions: a mix of fear, shock, worry, and a hint of denial. She fought the urge to drop to her knees, but pulled her goggles off and wiped the fog out instead.

"Jesus," she whispered to herself under her breath.

"I don't think I can f-feel my body," Eren managed out before choking on a cough. A trickle of blood crawled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Help me get these boulders off him!" Levi felt himself almost cry, but was thankful he could just say it was the rain.

His stoic expression remained unmoved like nothing was happening, however the underside of that expression was a tangle of crying, screaming in fear, and praying that Eren wouldn't die.

After a couple of tries, Hanji and Levi managed to free Eren of the boulders. They all breathed a hesitant sigh if relief. Eren's Maneuver Gear looked like broken glass, so the stripped it off and left it behind, and his leg was a gory soup. The large black and blue bruises-visible through a tear in Eren's shirt-revealed signs of some broken ribs and a blood stain colored his right side reddish-brown.

Hanji whistled and three horses ran over. Levi mounted his horse and pulled Eren up with him. Levi sat Eren in front and let him lean on Levi, while he wrapped his own arms under Eren's and around his torso to grab the reins. Hanji tethered Eren's horse to hers and sent a black smoke signal sailing through the rain. They galloped off towards the rest of the formation, which was fading into the horizon. A few more black signals rallied the message off in the distance.

Mikasa hadn't seen the familiar lightning. She rapidly grew more and more worried, but she'd seen the black smoke being relayed through the formation. Although, she had no idea what it meant. Out of nowhere, Mikasa had the strange felling that she needed to look behind her. Turning around in her saddle, she saw three horses steadily taking up the distance. She breathed an overjoyed sigh of relief and continued riding. Armin glanced back at her and she gave him a quick nod.

They three had been riding for about fifteen minutes. Since they left, Eren had left a blood trail behind them and (even though the amount of blood was decreasing) was slipping in and out of consciousness. The rear of the formation was now only about 100 feet away. Hanji turned and gave Levi a look that was half happiness and half utter concern. Eren began to shudder against Levi. That didn't surprise him at all, seeing as how they were both completely drenched and Eren, being in front, caught all the wind from riding so fast.

"It's-s c-cold...Levi," Eren mumbled through his chattering teeth.

Levi one-handedly unbuttoned his cloak and draped it around Eren; not sure if two wet cloaks and a sopping jacket really helped him any.

Eren moaned painfully and leaned to the side a little. Levi was unaware of what he was planning to do until Eren spit out a mouthful of blood. Levi cursed to himself as Eren returned to his earlier position.

"Hey! I'm gonna go find Erwin!" Hanji yelled over the rain. She rode ahead and blended in with the formation.

Levi quickly caught up and rode to his position up front, and took extreme caution in avoiding Mikasa. Erwin did a double-take when he saw Eren. The commander's eyes flicked at Levi, who responded with a "yes" nod. Erwin sent a yellow signal flying and the entire group instantly halted. Erwin rode up beside Levi and Hanji.

"Supply wagon 52 is empty except for the medical supplies," Erwin explained.

Levi, Eren, and Hanji quickly rode off towards the middle.


	3. Chapter 3

Almost the whole formation encircled the covered wagon they were working in (Levi sat on the  
left of Eren and Hanji sat on the right). Every so often, a bloody bandage, an empty bottle, or some other piece of disposable medical equipment would be thrown out the back. At one point Eren's Maneuver Gear harness was thrown out as well. Mikasa was fighting her way though the crowd with Armin, Jean, and a couple others failing at holding her back. Swearing, screaming, and empty threats rang out with the thunder.

"Ugh...let her through already!" Levi ordered as he threw another blood-soaked bandage out the back and used his teeth to pull his sleeves up higher.

Mikasa broke through the line of people and ran to the wagon at full speed. She peered over the side with fresh tears forming under her eyes. Eren was ghostly pale and his lips were an almost inhuman shade of blue. His hair clung to his face in matted clumps.

"M-Mi...k-kasa..." Eren's voice was hoarse and shaky. He leaned to get up, but Levi forced him down.

"Ah ah ah! I don't need you getting up. This is hard enough with all of us shivering like babies. But, on the bright side, we had covered wagons this time."

"Splint," Hanji ordered quietly, "and another gauze pad."

Just then, a fresh blast of wind and rain blew into the covered wagon, soaking them again. Eren caught the bulk of the rain and started trembling once more. Hanji pulled her cloak off and put it over Eren.

"I hate rain," Levi and Hanji grumbled in unplanned unison.

"Leg...hurts...," Eren muttered.

Mikasa ran around to the drivers side and hopped into the wagon. She knelt by Eren's shoulders and reached for his hand. She squeezed Eren's hand lovingly and the corners of his mouth twitched. Mikasa took that as a grateful smile.

"Feel that?" Hanji asked as she poked Eren's good leg.

Eren nodded and Levi thought he saw Hanji smile. But, if she did, it quickly faded as Hanji finished tying the splint and bandaging the leg. She set Eren's leg down gently on a wad of folded towels. The focus shifted to Eren's upper half now. Hanji unbuttoned Eren's shirt and wiped either rain or sweat off her forehead. Her brows relaxed and she sank back on her heels.

"What is it?" Levi asked casually...even though he meant it to sound much more concerned.

"It's only a gash. And here I thought there was internal bleeding and stuff," Hanji said with a smile.

"How is that good?" Mikasa didn't seem to be in a joking mood and didn't realize she was squeezing Eren's hand tighter.

"Because," Hanji began as she reached for a needle and started stitching up Eren's side,"all it needs is a few rows of stitches. The ribs should take care of themselves until we reach the Wall."

The work continued for a few more minutes before Hanji tied off the last stitch and wrapped Eren's torso and chest in bandages.

"There," Levi said as he and Hanji rose and jumped out of the wagon. Hanji ran off towards Erwin, but Levi stood there and used the rain to wash the blood from his arms, "that's all we can do from now. Stay with him and try and keep him warm; he's lost a lot of blood. We're leaving momentarily."

Mikasa nodded and sat down criss-cross in a last minute attempt in getting comfortable. Levi walked to his horse, and tried to pinpoint the reason why had been scared that Eren might die. After all, Levi had made it evidently clear that if Eren died he wouldn't be phased by it...so why was he so frightened earlier?

The wagon offered its occupants a bumpy ride and it was-by no means-warm and dry. Hanji had cut the left leg of Eren's pants off up to the middle of his thigh. The left boot had been removed and was laying in the corner of the wagon. Mikasa pulled her cloak off and placed it over Eren, a familiar action by now. She didn't care that she was cold, she had her scarf. She moved Eren's head into her lap. He was so cold-like living ice-his clothes were wet and pasty and his skin felt clammy. The blue was fading from his lips at a snail's pace, but they still remained dry and cracked. A sob escaped her lips in a short squeak. Eren's eyes opened slowly-they were bloodshot and dull. What was once bright turquoise-green had been replaced with a bleak sea foam-grey.

"Eren!" She breathed before breaking out in tears.

"What happened...?W-Why is it so-cough cough-cold?"

Eren leaned over and spat out a few drops of blood before lying back down. Mikasa wiped a stray droplet off the corner of his mouth with the cuff of her sleeve.

"Rest, Eren," her tone was firm, but calm,"it'll stop raining soon."

His eyes fluttered shut as she stroked the hair out of his face. It was rare to see Eren so destroyed and beaten down to such a degree as this.


	4. Chapter 4

Returning to Karanes was nothing new. The Survey Corps. received its usual ridicule as they all made their way through to the gates that led into Wall Rose. The phrases "wasted taxes" and "more dead bodies" flew around like bees in summer. The only difference from all the other times was that no all the "newbies" were getting accustomed to it. A woman ran out of a house and up the street until she stood in front of Erwin (who ordered a brief stop because he knew what was going to happen). The woman looked about 50 with her gray hair in a loose bun; the tears fell from her face in a cascade.

"My daughter...I don't see my daughter. Rachael Bruce, left vanguard..."

She fell to her knees crying her eyes out. Erwin and the rest off the group fanned around her as they passed through. Her shrieking cries were a morbid form of comfort for not only the dead corpses in the back, but the living ones up front. Eren could see out the back of the wagon that a couple other women had come out to comfort the crying mother.

Eren lay in the infirmary of the old castle. This was becoming much to familiar to him (not a week went by that he wasn't in there for something. But most of the time it was just because of Hanji and her mad-science-themed experiments) and he was growing sick of the same. Thing. Every. Week.

Eren was sleeping when Levi walked in. The sound of boots on the creaking floorboards woke Eren up. His eyes opened to Levi setting a cup of tea down on the nightstand and pulling a chair up.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Eren's timid smile didn't mask the fact that his voice was the equivalent of rough gravel.

Levi reached over and handed Eren a glass of water which was instantly drained and returned to its place on some nearby cart. Levi stared at the floor. He knew he had felt something a few days ago, but he would never admit that. He came to the conclusion that it was just the fear of being humiliated for letting an invaluable asset be crushed to death. With that thought ground deep into his mind, Levi stood and left, but Mikasa walked in just as he was exiting and sat down in the chair. She reached up to brush a few strands if hair out of his face but Eren jerked away and blushed. Her fingers grazed his forehead and the protective sixth sense kicked in.

"You have a fever, Eren," Mikasa said bluntly as she laid her hand over his forehead.

"No I don't. Hanji checked an hour ago."

"Don't argue. You feel like a furnace."

Eren leaned over and coughed into his arm. Mikasa didn't need to be an expert to see that Eren was in pain. Eren gestured towards a blanket that was folded on the foot of the bed.

All this was caused by a little rain, Mikasa thought as she hung the blanket over Eren's shoulders. "how's your leg?"

"It doesn't hurt as much. But, it'll be at least two months before I can do anything other than hobble around and lay in bed. My ribs should heal on their own."

Mikasa lifted up the blankets around Eren's leg. A few drops of blood freckled the gauze. The wooden splint was tied tightly over the other bandages. Replacing the blankets, Mikasa grabbed Eren's hand. With his other hand Eren reached for the cup of tea and drank it. The hot liquid felt good on his throat.


	5. Chapter 5

He was running through the forest. Rain dripped off the trees-wait...that wasn't water. It was blood. Blood rain. Eren stumbled through the forest with no particular motive. Something caught his foot and he landed face down in the wet, muddy grass. He looked back at his feet.

"The hell...?"

Then he saw it. Mikasa was lying on the ground on her back. Her expression was dead, her eyes were open, and the blood rain drenched her in red. Eren scrambled over to her and screamed her name several times before he gave up.

Then Eren heard a thud behind him. He turned around and came face-to-corpse with Armin. He was the same way: eyes open, and dead-with a matching expression. Then another body fell on top of Eren. He wriggled out from under Levi. The Hanji fell a few feet away. Eren looked up at the sky, a pitch black abyss, to be met with the sight of not only blood rain, but a rain of bodies.

Eren stood up and ran away, dodging falling bodies from every side. Every so often he would stumble over some random person that he didn't know. A woman in a long dress and an apron crumpled in front of Eren. But she was alive. In a distorted and gruesome manner it brought itself to rest on its elbows. Eren was unable to move-unable to take his eyes off her. The woman's head snapped forward and met Eren's gaze with the two gaping hole where her eyes should have been. Blood poured from the empty sockets.

"Mom...?!"

"Eren! Why didn't you die?! Your the reason I'm dead...the reason your fathers gone. Your a monster-a monster that ruins lives!"

Eren shook his head and dropped to his knees bawling.

"Look at the Special Operations Squad! They all died for you! This is why I told you not to join the Survey Corps. You are a burden, Eren!"

"NO!"

Eren bolted up in bed. Sweat beaded on his forehead and made his clothes cling to his body. The sudden shock had left him hyperventilating and struggling to calm down. Hanji, who was working quietly at her desk, stood up so fast that her chair fell backwards. She ran over to Eren and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Hanji...my mother...it-it was raining bodies...a-and blood," Eren stammered through his ragged breaths.

"It's okay, Eren. Your okay. Breathe...breathe."

The doors to the infirmary flew open and Mikasa ran in holding a candle. The flames from the candle illuminated her night gown and her terrified expression. She darted over to the bed and sat down next to Eren.

"What happened? What's going on, Hanji? I heard screaming."

"Just a nightmare is all. A pretty bad one about raining bodies and his mother."  
Eren finally calmed down after about five or so minutes. Hanji picked up her chair and retuned with a syringe. Eren cringed at the sight of the needle and the memory of his father injecting him with whatever-that-was when he was younger. It only took a couple of seconds though.

"It's just a mild sedative to help you relax and fall back to sleep. Now since you're awake..."

Hanji disappeared into one of the dark corners of the room. The sound of clinking bottles and shuffling filled the room. Hanji shuffled to another corner of the room and fumbled some more. Levi walked in through the door that was left open. He was still in full uniform.

"What in the Earth are you doing? And why are you doing it so loudly? There are people trying to work."

"At 2 in the morning?" Mikasa shot.

"Hey...I have a lot of paperwork."

Hanji returned holding a tray that had three bottles of antiseptic, a pair of tweezers, and a pile of cotton balls on it. She pulled a chair up near Eren's leg and pulled the blankets back. The surrounding sheets and the bandages were coated in red.

"Ahh crap."

"What's wrong, Hanji?" Eren asked groggily.

"Well," she began as she pulled the bandages off," I'm guessing that you tossed and turned enough during your nightmare to reopen your wounds. On the flip side it sounds like the drugs are kicking in."

Mikasa moved to the opposite side of the bed and sat down, holding Eren's right hand tightly. Hanji picked up a cotton ball with the tweezers and drowned it in antiseptic. Levi walked out quietly as Hanji began dabbing Eren's leg. When he didn't make a sound Hanji assumed he was out.


	6. Chapter 6

Eren rode out of headquarters with the rest of the right vanguard. It had been a little over two months since that rockslide and all that was left was a couple of scars. Hanji still had Eren taking it easy but as far as Levi was concerned: if Eren could walk, he could work. Last week they received reports of Titans trying to break down the gate leading into Karanes. Mikasa had pleaded with Levi to not take Eren on the operation, but since Eren had been training so hard and wasn't showing any signs of relapse, Levi had decided that he was ready.

The group would ride through Trost and around to the gate at the front of Karanes. From there they would exterminate whatever Titan(s) were causing the problem. But that was easier said than done. As the approached the gate they could see at least thirty Titans-ranging from 10 meter to 20 meter classes. Levi quickly gave the order to engage and almost immediately everyone shot out their 3DMG lines and began eagerly slicing through necks.

Mikasa never took her eyes off Eren for a second. Every turn he took she followed him at a distance; every time he came close to a Titan she raised her blades should anything go wrong. Everything was going well for the first few kills. But the Eren disappeared for a second. Mikasa perched herself on the wall and scanned the battle scene for her half-brother. Her heart raced every second she didn't see him. Then a scream rang out from directly bellow her. Mikasa looked down through the steam to see Eren in the hands of a 13 meter class.

On instinct she raced towards Eren. Mikasa had to swerve in every direction under the sun to avoid the various Titans and people that blocked her bee-line towards Eren. Then, just as she arrived to save him, she was too late. Eren's head was already in the Titan's blood-stained teeth. Before she could react, the Titan bit down and popped Eren's head like a grape under a boot.

"No! Eren!" Mikasa shrieked in an octave that was almost too high to be human as she watched the sickening sight of Eren being eaten. Right. In. Front of her.


End file.
